VALLEYCATS TAKE DOWN BOULDERS - FRONTIER DAILY ROUNDUP
WRITTEN BY: MIKE GUISTOLISE
VALLEYCATS TAKE OPENER FROM BOULDERS
TROY, NY - The Tri-City ValleyCats won the series opener against the New York Boulders 7-5.
In a series that could shift the Frontier League East standings, the second-place ValleyCats (14-11) made a big statement with a late comeback over the first-place Boulders (16-7). New York jumped out on top with a two-run home run in the second inning but the ValleyCats would stay close with a sacrifice fly in the third. The Boulders were able to tack on a couple more runs to establish a 4-1 lead through the first 5.5 innings. C Oscar Campos trimmed the deficit to one with his two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth, which later allowed 2B Ryan Cash to tie the game with an RBI base hit. Tri-City took a 7-5 lead with three runs over the next two innings and then handed the game off to RHP Greg Blackman, who closed it out in the ninth for his first save of the season. RHP Gino Sabitine got the win for Tri-City in relief while RHP Aaron Dona took the loss.
The ValleyCats will look for the series win on Saturday against the Boulders at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. First pitch is at 6:30 PM EDT.
KNOCKOUTS SURVIVE COMEBACK EFFORT FROM SUSSEX COUNTY
BROCKTON, MA - The New England Knockouts took the opener at Campanelli Stadium against the Sussex County Miners by a final score of 7-6.
The Knockouts (8-16) were able to hold off a late offensive surge from the Miners (10-14) to take the series opener. Everything started the way New England could have hoped for, with an RBI single in the first to take the lead. The Miners tied the game, but the Knockouts continued to produce, retaking the lead on an RBI single from LF Jalen Garcia. Garcia then pushed the lead to four in the sixth inning when he hit a two-run homer to make it 5-1. Sussex County battles back to bring the game within one in the eighth, but two more insurance runs stretched the Knockout lead back to three. The Miners fought well into the ninth inning, scoring two more runs while getting the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, but RHP Reeves Martin was able to strike out the final hitter to deliver the win. RHP Matt Cronin picked up his first win of the season after going for seven full innings while Reeves got the save. RHP Kellen Brothers took the loss for the Miners.
The Knockouts and Miners will play their second game on Saturday. First pitch is set for 6:30 PM EDT.
JACKALS SMACK TITANS IN SERIES OPENER
PATERSON, NJ - The New Jersey Jackals defeated the Ottawa Titans 9-3 in the series opener on Friday.
The Jackals (10-14) used a big fourth inning to take the lead and kept the Titans (10-13) off the scoreboard until the eighth inning. 3B Ryan Ford began the scoring in the fourth with a two-run home run and would eventually make the last out in an inning where New Jersey sent 12 hitters to the plate while scoring six runs. The scoring continued in the fifth as CF Arbert Cipion and 2B Xavier Valentin both had RBI singles to extend the lead to 8-0. The Titans were able to finally score in the eighth, ending a streak of 19 scoreless innings over their last three games, but could not put together much of a comeback bid. RHP Yuki Sako struck out eight over seven shutout innings for the New Jersey win while LHP Tyler Jandron was tagged with the loss.
The Jackals and Titans will play the second game of their series on Saturday at Hinchcliffe Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:05 PM EDT.
WILD THINGS SHUT DOWN SLAMMERS BEHIND DIVALERIO'S 10Ks
WASHINGTON, PA - The Washington Wild Things silenced the Joliet Slammers 3-1 at Wild Things Park on Friday night.
The Wild Things (17-7) were able to rally behind RHP Jordan DeValerio's excellent start to take the series opener against the Slammers (10-15). In the third inning, Joliet was able to take the lead on a sacrifice fly; it turned out to be the only run that DiValerio would allow in his eight innings of work. Washington was able to respond in the fourth, thanks to an RBI triple from LF Quincy Latimore and an RBI single from 3B Tommy Caufield to take a 2-1 lead. 1B Andrew Czech was able to extend his on-base streak to 56 games on a solo shot in the sixth that extended the Wild Things' lead to 3-1. DiValerio got the win after allowing just one run on three hits in his eight innings of work, not to mention his 10 strikeouts. RHP Gyeongju Kim picked up his seventh save in the effort while RHP Dwayne Marshall took the loss for the Slammers.
The Wild Things will look to take the series against the Slammers on Saturday. First pitch for the second game of the series is scheduled for 7:05 PM.
GRIZZLIES' OFFENSE LEADS THEM OVER CAPITALES
QUEBEC CITY, CAN. - The Gateway Grizzlies took down the Québec Capitales 10-5 at Stade Canac on Friday night.
The Grizzlies (16-8) scored in six of the game's nine innings while piling up 16 hits on the Capitales (12-13). 3B DJ Stewart gave the Grizzlies the initial 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning, but Québec quickly responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Gateway then began a streak in the second inning where it scored eight straight runs, including three more RBIs from Stewart, making the score 10-2 headed into the bottom of the eighth. The Capitales were able to score three runs in the eighth to make it 10-5, but Gateway's pitching was able to close the game out in the ninth. RHP Teague Conrad earned his third win of the season while LHP Harley Gollert took the loss.
The Capitales will host the Grizzlies again on Saturday in Québec. The second game of the series is set to begin at 7:05 PM EDT.
CRUSHERS BLANK AIGLES IN OPENER
AVON, OH - The Lake Erie Crushers shut out the Trois-Rivières Aigles 2-0 at Crusher Stadium on Friday Night.
The Crushers (16-9) have now won three games in a row, and five of their last six. LF Ron Washington Jr. broke the 0-0 tie in the third inning when he launched his second bomb of the year over the left-field fence, giving the Crushers a 1-0 lead. RF Jose Torrealba put the Aigles (12-12) further in the hole with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0 in the fourth inning. From there, it was all about Lake Erie's pitching staff. LHP Matt Valin only surrendered one hit in his six-inning shutout start while striking out nine, giving him his third win of the year. The Crushers then sent out three relievers who preserved the shutout over the last three innings while also not allowing a hit. LHP Didier Vargas took the loss for Trois-Rivières.
The Crushers will look for the series win at home against the Aigles on Saturday. The second game of that series is set to begin at 7:05 PM EDT.
BOOMERS SHOCK THUNDERBOLTS ON THE ROAD
CRESTWOOD, IL - The Schaumburg Boomers scored six runs late to defeat the Windy City ThunderBolts 7-1 on Friday night.
Ozinga Field was the home away from home for the Boomers (18-6), as the visitors erased the ThunderBolts (10-16) on their own turf. The only scoring to speak of through the first six innings was a wild pitch that CF Chase Dawson was able to score on and give the Boomers a 1-0 lead in the third. In the seventh, an error on a fielder's choice allowed two runs to score while Dawson tallied another RBI on a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-0. The Schaumburg left fielder would come up to hit again in the eighth, bringing in two more runs on a base hit towards the second baseman. The ThunderBolts would get one run back in the eighth but their four-error night was too much to overcome. LHP John Wilson got the win for Schaumburg while LHP Michael Barker took the loss.
The Boomers and ThunderBolts will play the middle game of their series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 7:05 PM EDT.
EVANSVILLE WINS BIG AGAINST FLORENCE
EVANSVILLE, IN - The Evansville Otters took the series opener against the Florence Y'alls on Friday night by a final score of 9-1.
Evansville (8-17) homered twice in the win over Florence (7-16). 3B Pavin Parks gave the Otters a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a sacrifice fly. The Y'alls then tied the game in the fourth on a solo home run, the only run they would score in the game. The Evansville offense came alive in the fourth when LF Randy Bednar gave the Otters the lead back on with his own solo shot. Bednar would then bring home two more runs in the fifth on a double before Parks launched a three-run dinger to make it 7-1 Otters. RHP Zach Smith picked up his first win of the season after going for seven innings and striking out eight. RHP Luke Helton took the loss for Florence.
The Otters will host the Y'alls for game two at Bosse Field on Saturday. First pitch is set for 7:35 PM EDT.
